A university interview and a visa interview are two different things
The word "interview" can come up twice while you prepare to study in Korea. One is the interview a university runs as a step in its admissions process. The other is the interview a Korean embassy or consulate may run while screening your study visa. Different people ask, they check different things, and failing has different consequences. Falling short in a university interview means you are not admitted; failing a visa interview means you cannot enter the country even with an admission letter in hand. Preparing for both as if they were one thing fits neither.
The university interview — first check whether there is one
Whether an interview happens at all differs by university, by admission track, and by department. Here is what five actual admission guidelines say.
- Seoul National University, Global Talent Special Admission for Spring 2027, holds a video interview only for Track II (applicants who completed their entire education abroad). Track I (both parents foreign nationals) has none. The guideline states that an interview is held "only where necessary after review of the submitted documents, based on the documents the applicant submitted," and adds that the College of Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine may use a prompt text. Interview candidates are announced on 11 September 2026 and the interview is on 18 September 2026.
- Ewha Womans University, Foreign Student Special Admission for Spring 2027, selects on a comprehensive review of documents and states that it "may hold an interview if necessary (by telephone or video for applicants residing outside Korea)." Voice majors are the exception: undergraduate Voice and the graduate Voice programmes must sit an on-site interview and practical exam at Ewha's Music Building on 24 October 2026, a Zoom interview is not accepted, and anyone who does not attend is excluded from evaluation. In the graduate Composition and Musicology programmes, only those who pass the first-round document review sit a Zoom interview.
- Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech), Foreign Student Special Admission for September 2026 entry, interviews only those who pass the first-round document screening. The format is in person or online (Zoom); missing the interview means failing, and there is no second sitting. Notice of the interview goes only to the email address written on the application, the applicant bears the consequences of missing it by not checking that email, and under no circumstances is a re-interview granted.
- Catholic Kwandong University, Special Admission for Overseas Koreans and Foreign Nationals 2026, is a rare case that puts numbers on it. For every department except Medicine and Nursing, the interview is 100% (100 points) of the decision, and below 40 points is a fail. For Medicine and Nursing, stage one is documents 100% (1,000 points) and stage two is 70% of the stage-one score (700 points) plus the interview at 30% (300 points). The interview was held on 22 August 2025, and the time and place were posted on the admissions website nine days earlier, at 15:00 on 13 August.
- Kyungpook National University, in its guideline for the second semester of 2023, made the departmental review itself an oral interview examination. The method was "an in-person or remote (video, etc.) interview, by department," and an applicant judged unqualified by their first-choice department was interviewed again by their second-choice department. Proof of financial means was submitted only after passing the interview. The Department of Chinese Classics accepted only applicants who could attend an interview in Korea in person.
There is no point on which all five agree. "If necessary" sits next to "all applicants," "telephone or video accepted" next to "Zoom not accepted," and an unweighted comprehensive review next to "interview 100%." There is no substitute for opening the guideline of the university you are applying to and checking whether there is an interview, in what format, with what weight, and how many days fall between the announcement of interview candidates and the interview itself.
More than admission rides on the interview
SeoulTech admits applicants who do not meet its TOPIK Level 3 requirement on a conditional basis, and the eligibility for that route is "a person able to interview in English or Chinese." If the applicant still does not meet even the minimum requirement by the final admission date, a Korean-language interview decides whether they are finally admitted. The same university's entrance scholarship combines the certified language score with a "document and interview review" grade (A, B or C), and the result ranges from 50% of tuition to the full amount. Ewha likewise states that it may ask an applicant for an online interview during scholarship screening.
The visa interview — what the mission checks
On 11 June 2026 the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam posted a revision of its study visa procedure stating that "in addition to the document review, an interview may be conducted during visa screening, and failing the interview means the visa is refused." After a refusal you may reapply only after three months. The photograph on the visa application form must have been taken within six months of the application date, and if your face at the interview differs from the photograph, the visa is refused.
The form attached to that same notice, "Information sheet for study and language-training visa applicants," shows exactly what the mission checks. The form states its purpose as confirming "the genuineness of the study applicant, their intent to study, and the Korean university's efforts in selection to prevent illegal overstay," and asks for the following.
- Your parents' occupations and monthly income, the assets they own, and whether the university provides a scholarship
- How long you have studied Korean, the address, contact number, instructor and tuition of the language school, and your TOPIK level
- The name, phone number and email of the admissions officer at the Korean university you applied to, your intended major, whether you have prior knowledge of that subject, whether you have been interviewed by anyone from the Korean university, and how that university selects students
- The name, address and contact details of your study agency and its representative and case officer, and a cost breakdown by tuition, dormitory, insurance, books, airfare and agency fee
The form states that entering anything untrue can count against the visa decision, and that a forged diploma or family register, once confirmed, can be reported to the local investigative authorities. Processing time also depends on whether an interview happens. The same guidance sets 20 working days for a discretionary visa, 10 working days for fully funded scholarship students and D-2-4 to D-2-8, and 7 working days for a Certificate of Visa Eligibility, then adds that "the period may be extended for reasons such as supplementary documents or an interview."
Some missions have an interview clause and some do not
We checked the study visa guidance of five Korean missions. The document guidance of the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, effective 26 September 2024, likewise states that "the screening period may be extended for reasons such as supplementary documents or an interview" — but there, reapplication after a refusal is only possible after six months, not the three months set in Hanoi. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Cambodia states that "where the purpose of entry is difficult to confirm from the submitted documents alone, additional documents or an interview with the applicant may be requested, ... and in some cases the visa may be refused." By contrast, the study visa pages of the Korean Consulates General in Los Angeles and Chicago contain no interview clause at all. Open the guidance of the mission where you will actually apply and start by checking whether it has one.
Sources
- 서울대학교 입학본부 「2027학년도 전기 글로벌인재특별전형 학사신입학 모집요강」
- 이화여자대학교 국제학생팀 「2027학년도 전기 외국인특별전형 모집요강」
- 서울과학기술대학교 「2026학년도 9월 입학 외국인특별전형 모집요강」
- 가톨릭관동대학교 입학관리팀 「2026학년도 재외국민과 외국인 특별전형 모집요강」
- 경북대학교 「2023학년도 2학기 대학 외국인(부모가 모두 외국인인 외국인) 특별전형 모집요강」
- 주베트남 대한민국 대사관 「[유학비자(D-2, D-4) 사증 안내]」
- 주호치민 대한민국 총영사관 「유학비자 구비서류」
- 주캄보디아 대한민국 대사관 「인증대학 유학 비자 구비서류 안내」
- 주로스앤젤레스 대한민국 총영사관 「유학(D-2) 및 연수(D-4)비자」
- 주시카고 대한민국 총영사관 「유학비자(D-2)」
Information on this page is current as of September 2026.